How did Ancient Egyptians mummify a body?

History Extra

Egypt’s undertakers employed different mummification methods at different times. Here are details of the classic method, as used on Tutankhamun.

 The deceased was taken to the undertaker’s workshop soon after death. The body was stripped, laid on a sloping table, and washed in natron solution (a naturally occurring salt used both as soap and a preservative).

The brain was emptied out of the skull via a hole made through the ethmoid bone (the bone separating the nasal cavity from the skull cavity). Next, an incision was made in the left flank, and the stomach, intestine, lungs and liver pulled out. These organs were preserved so that they might be buried with the mummy.

With the finger and toenails tied in place, the corpse was packed inside and out with natron and left for 40 days, until entirely dry. The desiccated body was then washed, oiled and packed with linen to restore its shape.

Wrapping was a long and complicated process, as the undertakers employed a mixture of bandages, linen pads and sheets to give the mummy a life-like appearance, and a mixture of charms and amulets, distributed within the bandages, to ensure its protection. Finally, the wrapped mummy was placed in its coffin.

Dr Joyce Tyldesley is a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Life Sciences at the University of Manchester, where she writes and teaches a number of Egyptology courses.

Archaeologists Stumble Upon 10 Egyptian Late Period Rock-Hewn Tombs

Ancient Origins

An Egyptian mission from the Ministry of Antiquities recently came across 10 previously undiscovered rock-hewn tombs on the West Bank of Aswan. They say the tombs date to the Late Period (664‒332 BC) and contain sarcophagi, mummies, and funerary collections.

The team was working at the nearby Agha Kahn mausoleum when they found the tombs. Nasr Salama, director-general of Aswan and Nubia Antiquities, told Ahram Online the tombs are architecturally similar. All feature sliding steps leading to an entrance, followed by a small burial chamber. Inside those chambers the researchers have found stone sarcophagi and mummies, as well as artifacts such as a gilded coffin, painted mummy mask, clay pot, and canopic jars.

A painted mummy mask found as part of one of the funerary collections. ( Ahram Online )

Funerary goods were very important elements of ancient Egyptian burials. As Ancient Origins writer Dhwty explained in an article on enigmatic funerary cones :

 “Ancient Egyptians were extremely concerned about the afterlife, and they did all they could to provide for the dead. Funerary goods were buried with the dead to provide protection and sustenance in the afterlife. Amulets and magic spells, for example, protected and aided the dead in their journey through the Underworld, whilst little figurines called shabtis could be magically animated to perform tasks for the dead in the afterlife. Other common items buried with the dead include jewelry, pottery, furniture and food.”

A canopic jar found in one of the Aswan tombs. ( Ministry of Antiquities )

An initial study of the tombs suggests that they are likely an extension of the Aswan necropolis containing overseers from the Old, Middle, and New kingdom. The team will return to excavations and conservation work on the tombs in September. They hope to learn more about the deceased at that time.

 In June 2015, Mark Miller reported for Ancient Origins that six other ancient Egyptian tombs belonging to elite members of the 26th dynasty of the Late Pharaonic Period were found in the necropolis near Agha Khan’s mausoleum. Before that, only tombs from the early and middle dynasties had been excavated in that part of Aswan.

Those tombs were looted in the unrest of 2011, but a number of stunning artifacts were still found including some sarcophagi with mummies intact, statues of the falcon-headed god Horus and his four sons, and amulets of different colors, shapes and sizes.

Statues found in the 26th dynasty Aswan tombs in 2015. (Ministry of Antiquities/ Egitalloyd Travel Egypt ) 

The 26th dynasty has been called both a Renaissance, after Assyrian conquerors left and Egyptian governors declared themselves kings, and as the last gasp of a once great culture. As Mark Miller wrote: 

“Historians say the prosperity of the time is evident in the many temples built then and the precise care taken to reproduce ancient artworks and literary texts. Also, archaeologists have found that the number of contracts written on papyrus from this era was increasing.”

The Brooklyn Papyrus, an ancient Egyptian medical papyrus dating from about 450 BC. ( Brooklyn Museum )

Top Image: Part of a gilded coffin which was found in one of the Aswan tombs. Source: Ministry of Antiquities

By Alicia McDermott

The First Genome Data from Ancient Egyptian Mummies: Ancient Egyptians Were Most Closely Related to Ancient Populations from the Near East

Ancient Origins

An international team of scientists, led by researchers from the University of Tuebingen and the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Jena, successfully recovered and analyzed ancient DNA from Egyptian mummies dating from approximately 1400 BCE to 400 CE, including the first genome-wide nuclear data from three individuals, establishing ancient Egyptian mummies as a reliable source for genetic material to study the ancient past. The study, published on Tuesday in Nature Communications, found that modern Egyptians share more ancestry with Sub-Saharan Africans than ancient Egyptians did, whereas ancient Egyptians were found to be most closely related to ancient people from the Near East.

Verena Schuenemann at the Palaeogenetics Laboratory, University of Tuebingen. Credit: Johannes Krause

 Methodological Obstacles with Egyptian aDNA
Egypt is a promising location for the study of ancient populations. It has a rich and well-documented history, and its geographic location and many interactions with populations from surrounding areas, in Africa, Asia and Europe, make it a dynamic region. Recent advances in the study of ancient DNA present an intriguing opportunity to test existing understandings of Egyptian history using ancient genetic data.

However, genetic studies of ancient Egyptian mummies are rare due to methodological and contamination issues. Although some of the first extractions of ancient DNA were from mummified remains, scientists have raised doubts as to whether genetic data, especially nuclear genome data, from mummies would be reliable, even if it could be recovered. "The potential preservation of DNA has to be regarded with skepticism," confirms Johannes Krause, Director at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Jena and senior author of the study. "The hot Egyptian climate, the high humidity levels in many tombs and some of the chemicals used in mummification techniques, contribute to DNA degradation and are thought to make the long-term survival of DNA in Egyptian mummies unlikely." The ability of the authors of this study to extract nuclear DNA from such mummies and to show its reliability using robust authentication methods is a breakthrough that opens the door to further direct study of mummified remains.

Mummified hand (circa 1000 BC) used as a source of ancient DNA (YouTube Screenshot)

The Research
For this study, an international team of researchers from the University of Tuebingen, the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Jena, the University of Cambridge, the Polish Academy of Sciences, and the Berlin Society of Anthropology, Ethnology and Prehistory, looked at genetic differentiation and population continuity over a 1,300-year timespan, and compared these results to modern populations. The team sampled 151 mummified individuals from the archaeological site of Abusir el-Meleq, along the Nile River in Middle Egypt, from two anthropological collections hosted and curated at the University of Tuebingen and the Felix von Luschan Skull Collection at the Museum of Prehistory of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Stiftung Preussicher Kulturbesitz.

In total, the authors recovered mitochondrial genomes from 90 individuals, and genome-wide datasets from three individuals. They were able to use the data gathered to test previous hypotheses drawn from archaeological and historical data, and from studies of modern DNA. "In particular, we were interested in looking at changes and continuities in the genetic makeup of the ancient inhabitants of Abusir el-Meleq," said Alexander Peltzer, one of the lead authors of the study from the University of Tuebingen. The team wanted to determine if the investigated ancient populations were affected at the genetic level by foreign conquest and domination during the time period under study, and compared these populations to modern Egyptian comparative populations. "We wanted to test if the conquest of Alexander the Great and other foreign powers has left a genetic imprint on the ancient Egyptian population," explains Verena Schuenemann, group leader at the University of Tuebingen and one of the lead authors of this study

Egyptian Mummy in Laboratory (Bigstock)

Close genetic relationship between ancient Egyptians and ancient populations in the Near East The study found that ancient Egyptians were most closely related to ancient populations in the Levant, and were also closely related to Neolithic populations from the Anatolian Peninsula and Europe. "The genetics of the Abusir el-Meleq community did not undergo any major shifts during the 1,300-year timespan we studied, suggesting that the population remained genetically relatively unaffected by foreign conquest and rule," says Wolfgang Haak, group leader at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Jena. The data shows that modern Egyptians share approximately 8% more ancestry on the nuclear level with Sub-Saharan African populations than with ancient Egyptians. "This suggests that an increase in Sub-Saharan African gene flow into Egypt occurred within the last 1,500 years," explains Stephan Schiffels, group leader at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Jena. Possible causal factors may have been improved mobility down the Nile River, increased long-distance trade between Sub-Saharan Africa and Egypt, and the trans-Saharan slave trade that began approximately 1,300 years ago.

This study counters prior skepticism about the possibility of recovering reliable ancient DNA from Egyptian mummies. Despite the potential issues of degradation and contamination caused by climate and mummification methods, the authors were able to use high-throughput DNA sequencing and robust authentication methods to ensure the ancient origin and reliability of the data. The study thus shows that Egyptian mummies can be a reliable source of ancient DNA, and can greatly contribute to a more accurate and refined understanding of Egypt's population history.

Top Image: Egyptian sarcophagus containing mummified remains The article ‘ The first genome data from ancient Egyptian mummies: Ancient Egyptians were most closely related to ancient populations from the Near East’ was originally published on Science Daily .

Owner of Mummified Legs Likely to Be Nefertari, Favorite Queen of Ramses II

Ancient Origins

They are not very pretty to look at now, but a pair of mummified legs are now believed to have belonged to a much sought after queen of ancient Egypt who had been buried in an elaborate and beautifully decorated tomb in the Valley of Queens. Queen Nefertari was the favorite wife of ancient Egyptian monarch, Ramses II, as indicated by the wealth and beauty of her tomb. A pair of mummified legs were found in her tomb in 1904, however, researchers were never sure if they belonged to her as they could have come from a second occupant in the tomb. New research published in the Journal PLOS One has tentatively identified them as hers.

Nefertari is famous for her elaborate tomb and her possible royal ancestry and lineage from King Ay, who could have been either her father or grandfather. She was the second wife of Pharaoh Ramses II, wed to him when he was still crown prince under his father Sety I. Ramses II went on to marry three of his and Nefertari’s daughters.

PLOS One explains: “Based on the legible/decipherable inscriptions on a fragment of a faience knob head or pommel found in her tomb, speculations were raised,” says the article, written by Michael E. Habicht and a team of medical, scientific and archaeological academics. “The item carries the throne name ‘Kheper-Kheperu-Ra’ and, is, therefore, connected with King Ay, who ruled Egypt for a few years after Tutankhamun. However, Nefertari did not carry the title ‘Daughter of a King’, which suggests that she was probably not from the main royal line.”

The faience knob head that states the throne name of Kheper-Kheperu-Ra or King Ay, possible grandfather of Nefertari. This knob head was found in her elaborate tomb that was looted in antiquity. ( PLOS One photo )

The article states that the mummified legs dated back to around 1250 BC, and belong to an individual who died at around 40 years of age. They were found alongside artifacts that “robustly support the burial of Queen Nefertari”. Nefertari, a consort, had eight children – four sons and four daughters. Her sons were preferred to Queen Isisnofret’s for succession, but the crown went to Isisnofret’s son Merenptah. Queen Nefertari attended the opening ceremony of Abu Simbel in the 24 th years of her husband’s reign, around 1255 BC. Thereafter, she disappeared from mention. She did not attend the large festival to mark Ramses’ 30 th year as king and probably died around his 25 th year as king. She likely lived to about 40 to 50 years. After her death, Ramses II married three of the daughters he fathered with Nefertari: Bint-Anat, Merytamun and Nebettau, the article states.

Nefertari, in a relief at Abu Simbel, is shown the same size as her husband, Ramses II, to show her important status in his New Kingdom reign. ( PLOS One photo )

The aim of the team’s research was to answer a question that has long simmered in Egyptology: Are these the legs of Queen Nefertari?

The researchers concluded they likely were, but there were still other hypotheses: They were the remains of one of her daughters. Likelihood: considerably low because her daughters had their own tombs in the Valley of Queens. They were the remains of a secondary burial of another personage from the 3 rd Intermediate Period. Sometimes tombs were reused. Conclusion: unlikely. The remains washed in from another burial. Conclusion: not likely as this tomb was higher than those around it. The legs and some of her things are on display at the Museo Egizio Turin, or the Egyptian Museum of Turin in Italy, where some of the researchers are from. Top image: Mummified legs found in Queen Nefertari’s tomb, possibly those of the queen herself, recent research shows. Her tomb, which had been looted centuries before, was opened in the Valley of Queens in 1904. A scholarly debate has been simmering since about whom the legs belonged to.

 By Mark Miller

3,200-Year-Old Ancient Egyptian Mummy Discovered in Great Shape in Luxor

Ancient Origins

A Spanish mission has just announced an exciting new discovery of a 3,200-year-old mummy in a highly decorated sarcophagus at Thutmose III's temple in Luxor, a city on the east bank of the Nile River in southern Egypt. The discovery was from the tomb of the servant of King Thutmose III’s house. The Spanish Mission stated that the mummy cartonnage is in an extremely good state of preservation. Thutmose III’s Reign and the Temple Project Thutmose III’s tomb was discovered by Victor Loret in 1898, in the Valley of the Kings. He was the sixth Pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty and his reign lasted from 1479 to 1426 BC. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most dominant kings of ancient Egypt, which is the reason why many archaeologists and historians often refer to him as the Egyptian "Napoleon". He is described as a very skilled warrior who brought the Egyptian empire to the zenith of its power by conquering all of Syria, crossing the Euphrates to defeat the Mitannians, and invading south along the Nile River to Napata in the Sudan. When Thutmose III died, he was buried in the Valley of the Kings as were the rest of the kings from this period in Egypt, also called the "mansions of millions of years" by the Egyptians. The excavation, restoration and enhancement project of these royal tombs was orchestrated by the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities and the Academy of Fine Arts Santa Isabel of Hungary of Seville and began in 2008. The team is led by Dr. Myriam Seco Álvarez, who coordinates researches in the Temple of Millions of Years of Thutmose III.



Temple of Millions of Years in Luxor. Credit: Thutmose III Temple Project Millennia-Old Mummy Found in Egyptian Tomb The ninth archaeological field season, which only launched a few weeks ago, is already considered successful after the joint Spanish-Egyptian mission discovered the tomb of the servant of the king’s house, Amenrenef, near a temple from the era of the great warrior king Thutmose III at Al-Deir Al-Bahari on Luxor's west bank. The mummy had been bound with linen stuck together with plaster and placed in an ornate, colored wooden sarcophagus.

The newly-discovered mummy and sarcophagus in Luxor. Credit: Ministry of Antiquities Mahmoud Afifi, head of the Ancient Egyptian Antiquities Department at the Ministry of Antiquities told Ahram Online that the tomb was uncovered at the southern enclosure wall of the temple and is in an excellent state of conservation. A deteriorated wooden coffin was found inside the tomb, he continued, but inside a beautiful and well-preserved mummy cartonnage was found.

Entrance to the tomb where the mummy was found. Credit: Ministry of Antiquities The archaeological team’s head, Myriam Seco Alvarez, said that the mummy was decorated with "many colorful decorations recalling religious symbols from ancient Egypt, such as the goddesses Isis and Nephtys displaying their wings, and the four sons of Horus". She also added that the cartonnage includes its almost complete polychrome painted decoration and inscriptions with some of the most characteristic symbols and elements of the ancient Egyptian religion.

Credit: Ministry of Antiquities

 Luxor, a city of nearly half a million people, has been battered by political instability and jihadi violence since the 2011 revolution that toppled the longtime dictator Hosni Mubarak. However, many archaeologists are being optimistic and consider Luxor a city of treasures that only small part have been discovered and more is waiting to be discovered.

Top image: The newly-discovered mummy and sarcophagus in Luxor. Credit: Ministry of Antiquities
By Theodoros II

10 things you (probably) didn't know about Ancient Egypt

History Extra

Fresco on the Tomb of Iti showing the transportation of wheat by donkey. Donkeys were more commonly used by the Ancient Egyptians than camels. (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)

 

1) They did not ride camels

The camel was not used regularly in Egypt until the very end of the dynastic age. Instead, the Egyptians used donkeys as beasts of burden, and boats as a highly convenient means of transport. 

 

The River Nile flowed through the centre of their fertile land, creating a natural highway (and sewer!). The current helped those who needed to row from south to north, while the wind made life easy for those who wished to sail in the opposite direction. The river was linked to settlements, quarries and building sites by canals. Huge wooden barges were used to transport grain and heavy stone blocks; light papyrus boats ferried people about their daily business. And every day, high above the river, the sun god Ra was believed to sail across the sky in his solar boat.

 

2) Not everyone was mummified

The mummy – an eviscerated, dried and bandaged corpse – has become a defining Egyptian artefact. Yet mummification was an expensive and time-consuming process, reserved for the more wealthy members of society. The vast majority of Egypt’s dead were buried in simple pits in the desert. 

 

So why did the elite feel the need to mummify their dead? They believed that it was possible to live again after death, but only if the body retained a recognisable human form. Ironically, this could have been achieved quite easily by burying the dead in direct contact with the hot and sterile desert sand; a natural desiccation would then have occurred. But the elite wanted to be buried in coffins within tombs, and this meant that their corpses, no longer in direct contact with the sand, started to rot. The twin requirements of elaborate burial equipment plus a recognisable body led to the science of artificial mummification.  

 

3) The living shared food with the dead

The tomb was designed as an eternal home for the mummified body and the ka spirit that lived beside it. An accessible tomb-chapel allowed families, well-wishers and priests to visit the deceased and leave the regular offerings that the ka required, while a hidden burial chamber protected the mummy from harm. 

 

Within the tomb-chapel, food and drink were offered on a regular basis. Having been spiritually consumed by the ka, they were then physically consumed by the living. During the ‘feast of the valley’, an annual festival of death and renewal, many families spent the night in the tomb-chapels of their ancestors. The hours of darkness were spent drinking and feasting by torchlight as the living celebrated their reunion with the dead. 

 

^{Food offerings to the dead. From a decorative detail from the Sarcophagus of Irinimenpu. (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)}

 

4) Egyptian women had equal rights with men

In Egypt, men and women of equivalent social status were treated as equals in the eyes of the law. This meant that women could own, earn, buy, sell and inherit property. They could live unprotected by male guardians and, if widowed or divorced, could raise their own children. They could bring cases before, and be punished by, the law courts. And they were expected to deputise for an absent husband in matters of business. 

 

Everyone in Ancient Egypt was expected to marry, with husbands and wives being allocated complementary but opposite roles within the marriage. The wife, the ‘mistress of the house’, was responsible for all internal, domestic matters. She raised the children and ran the household while her husband, the dominant partner in the marriage, played the external, wage-earning role. 

 

5) Scribes rarely wrote in hieroglyphs 

Hieroglyphic writing – a script consisting of many hundreds of intricate images – was beautiful to look at, but time-consuming to create. It was therefore reserved for the most important texts; the writings decorating tomb and temple walls, and texts recording royal achievements. 

 

As they went about their daily business, Egypt’s scribes routinely used hieratic – a simplified or shorthand form of hieroglyphic writing. Towards the end of the dynastic period they used demotic, an even more simplified version of hieratic. All three scripts were used to write the same ancient Egyptian language.

 

Few of the ancients would have been able to read either hieroglyphs or hieratic: it is estimated that no more than 10 per cent (and perhaps considerably less) of the population was literate.

 

^{Legal text on parchment, written in hieratic: a list of witnesses during the settlement of a quarrel, 1000 BC. (Photo by DEA / G Dagli Orti/De Agostini/Getty Images)}

 

6) The king of Egypt could be a woman

Ideally the king of Egypt would be the son of the previous king. But this was not always possible, and the coronation ceremony had the power to convert the most unlikely candidate into an unassailable king. 

 

On at least three occasions women took the throne, ruling in their own right as female kings and using the full king’s titulary. The most successful of these female rulers, Hatshepsut, ruled Egypt for more than 20 prosperous years.

 

In the English language, where ‘king’ is gender-specific, we might classify Sobeknefru, Hatshepsut and Tausret as queens regnant. In Egyptian, however, the phrase that we conventionally translate as ‘queen’ literally means ‘king’s wife’, and is entirely inappropriate for these women. 

 

7) Few Egyptian men married their sisters

Some of Egypt’s kings married their sisters or half-sisters. These incestuous marriages ensured that the queen was trained in her duties from birth, and that she remained entirely loyal to her husband and their children. They provided appropriate husbands for princesses who might otherwise remain unwed, while restricting the number of potential claimants for the throne. They even provided a link with the gods, several of whom (like Isis and Osiris) enjoyed incestuous unions. However, brother-sister marriages were never compulsory, and some of Egypt’s most prominent queens – including Nefertiti – were of non-royal birth. 

 

Incestuous marriages were not common outside the royal family until the very end of the dynastic age. The restricted Egyptian kingship terminology (‘father’, ‘mother’, ‘brother’, ‘sister’, ‘son’ and ‘daughter’ being the only terms used), and the tendency to apply these words loosely so that ‘sister’ could with equal validity describe an actual sister, a wife or a lover, has led to a lot of confusion over this issue.

 

8) Not all pharaohs built pyramids

Almost all the pharaohs of the Old Kingdom (c2686–2125 BC) and Middle Kingdom (c2055–1650 BC) built pyramid-tombs in Egypt’s northern deserts. These highly conspicuous monuments linked the kings with the sun god Ra while replicating the mound of creation that emerged from the waters of chaos at the beginning of time. 

 

But by the start of the New Kingdom (c1550 BC) pyramid building was out of fashion. Kings would now build two entirely separate funerary monuments. Their mummies would be buried in hidden rock-cut tombs in the Valley of the Kings on the west bank of the Nile at the southern city of Thebes, while a highly visible memorial temple, situated on the border between the cultivated land (home of the living), and the sterile desert (home of the dead), would serve as the focus of the royal mortuary cult. 

 

Following the collapse of the New Kingdom, subsequent kings were buried in tombs in northern Egypt: some of their burials have never been discovered.

 

9) The Great Pyramid was not built by slaves

The classical historian Herodotus believed that the Great Pyramid had been built by 100,000 slaves. His image of men, women and children desperately toiling in the harshest of conditions has proved remarkably popular with modern film producers. It is, however, wrong.

 

Archaeological evidence indicates that the Great Pyramid was in fact built by a workforce of 5,000 permanent, salaried employees and up to 20,000 temporary workers. These workers were free men, summoned under the corvée system of national service to put in a three- or four-month shift on the building site before returning home. They were housed in a temporary camp near the pyramid, where they received payment in the form of food, drink, medical attention and, for those who died on duty, burial in the nearby cemetery.

 

^{Great Pyramid of Cheops at Giza, which was not, as many believe, built by slaves. (Photo by MyLoupe/UIG via Getty Images)}

 10) Cleopatra many not have been beautiful

Cleopatra VII, last queen of ancient Egypt, won the hearts of Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, two of Rome’s most important men. Surely, then, she must have been an outstanding beauty? 

 

Her coins suggest that this was probably not the case. All show her in profile with a prominent nose, pronounced chin and deep-set eyes. Of course, Cleopatra’s coins reflect the skills of their makers, and it is entirely possible that the queen did not want to appear too feminine on the tokens that represented her sovereignty within and outside Egypt. 

 

Unfortunately we have no eyewitness description of the queen. However the classical historian Plutarch – who never actually met Cleopatra – tells us that her charm lay in her demeanour, and in her beautiful voice. 

 

 

Joyce Tyldesley, senior lecturer in Egyptology at the University of Manchester, is the author of Myths and Legends of Ancient Egypt (Allen Lane 2010) and Tutankhamen’s Curse: the developing history of an Egyptian king (Profile 2012).

The Face of a Beautiful Egyptian Woman Brought to Life from 2,000-Year-Old Mummy

Ancient Origins

The face of a young Egyptian woman who lived at least 2,000-years-ago has been reconstructed from a 3D print out of her skull. The forensic techniques employed revealed surprising facts about the beautiful woman, who has been named Meritamun, meaning beloved of the god Amun.

Researchers from the University of Melbourne in Australia, in collaboration with the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, used new technologies, including CT scanning, 3D printing and well known forensic facial reconstruction. Although, the mummy is incomplete, the remains stayed wrapped throughout the process.

The 3D printed skull of Meritamun took 140 hours to print. Picture: Paul Burston.

As Dr Ryan Jefferies, curator at the university's Harry Brookes Allen Museum of Anatomy and Pathology, said:

"This allowed for a non-invasive technique where we were able to see through all of the layers of the specimen, including the remanent muscle and all of the skull," he said. It's a powerful insight into someone's life who lived thousands of years ago. The advances in technology are making it easier. Whereas traditionally there was a lot more speculation, now we can be a lot more scientifically accurate with the data sets that we're using and then it becomes easier to do the reconstruction."

The head of a mummy has spent more than 90 years in the basement, which belongs to the University of Melbourne. According to the researchers, she died as a young woman between the age 18 and 25. It was determined due to the width of her mouth and the positioning of her teeth, and her nose shape and size was determined by the width of the nasal aperture. The researchers also found out that she had quite large eyes. Other parts of the body were lost due to unknown reasons.

The mummy was brought to Australia by English anthropologist Frederic Wood Jones, who joined the University of Melbourne as head of anatomy in 1930. It was excavated most probably between 1907 and 1908, when Jones completed archaeological survey work in southern Egypt to save ancient relics ahead of the Aswan Dam expansion on the Nile.
The reconstruction of Meritamun was just the beginning of the project related to the mysterious mummy. Now they hope to learn how she lived, where she came from and how she died. Moreover, according to Jefferies, the reconstruction is an exceptional teaching tool for students studying forensic analysis and pathology. It may have opened the doors to future works on many of the 12,000 forensic human specimens which belong to the collection from Melbourne.

Facial reconstruction from old skulls is a relatively new technique but is beginning to be practiced more frequently. In July,^, 2016, Alicia McDermott from Ancient Origins reported on another impressive female facial reconstruction. She wrote:
''Although she has been dead for over 3,700 years, a woman known as ‘Ava’ became the muse for a modern artist. By combining her ancient remains with modern software and imaging techniques, the appearance of the mysterious Bronze Age woman has been brought to light.
Specifically, the work Ava inspired is a facial reconstruction and the artist who recreated her appearance is a forensic artist specializing in this area. According to Daily Mail , Hew Morrison created the reconstruction by using a variety of techniques. First, he used an anthropological/pathological assessment of Ava’s skull to better determine her age and ancestry.
Next, Morrison said that he “implemented a formula that was pioneered by the American Anthropologist Wilton M Krogman in his 1962 book 'The Human Skeleton in Forensic Medicine,’” to create the shape of Ava's lower jaw, which was missing.
The archaeologist details on her website how Ava’s was undoubtedly a special burial. The remains of the young woman were probably interred in a crouched position in the unmarked rock-cut pit. This is considered rather odd, as most burials from the location and period were underneath a cairn or in a pit dug into soil.
One of the most interesting and hotly debated aspects about Ava’s remains is her skull. Short and round skull shapes were supposedly common amongst the Beaker people, but Hoole’s website says that the Achavanich specimen is exaggerated and of an abnormal, uneven shape.''
Top image: The reconstructed face of the young Egyptian woman. Image: Paul Burston / University of Melbourne
By Natalia Klimzcak

CT Scans of Mummy of an Ancient Priest Reveal He Was Stricken with Modern Diseases

Ancient Origins

The mummy of an ancient Egyptian man from 2,200 years ago was recently scanned by researchers. The results proved that the man, who lived during the reign of the Ptolemies, had weak bones and tooth decay – two issues that are generally associated with a more modern way of life.

The man was believed to have been a priest, and his mummy is on display at Israel's national museum. While examining the remains, the researchers used a CT scan to reveal that he suffered from some illnesses during his lifetime. The mummy, nicknamed ''Alex'', was wrapped in strands of linen with a gold mask placed over his skull’s face and was encased in a gold and a black coffin. When he died he was between 30 to 40 years old.

A CT (computerized tomography) scan of a 2,200-year-old Egyptian mummy on display in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. Associated Press Photo

According to DailyMail, the researchers saw evidence of severe tooth decay and guessed that the man suffered from excruciating toothaches. During his lifetime, he also evidently avoided manual labor in the sun in favor of focusing on his spiritual well-being. He evidently ate snacks that were full of carbohydrates as well. Thus, it is not too surprising that “Alex” had cavities in his teeth. This was quite common in some social classes in ancient Egypt due to a diet which contained lots of sweets. The man’s diet and lifestyle also made him more susceptible to osteoporosis, which the scans also show.

• Top Ten Historical Health and Medical Discoveries of 2015
• New study sheds light into ancient Egyptian health care system at Deir el-Medina

This research is a continuation of other international studies that have suggested that people in ancient Egyptian times also suffered from some modern-day diseases. As Galit Bennett, who curated the mummy exhibit, said: “Osteoporosis is a disease that is characteristic of the 20th century, when people don't work so hard. We are glued to screens. We were very surprised that there were people who didn't do physical work and that it affected their bodies like this man here.”

According to the researchers, the man was originally 167 cm (5.6 ft.) tall, but after his mummification, his body shrank to 154 cm (5.1 ft.) The team believes that this decrease in size was caused by the embalming process and the dry climate of Jerusalem. However, the same reasons aided in the excellent preservation of the mummy's bones, teeth, and even remnants of blood vessels.

It is believed that the mummy comes from Akhmim, about 480 km (300 miles) south of present-day Cairo. The inscription on his coffin says that he was a priest. The mummy and coffin were a gift to the Jesuit Pontifical Biblical Institute in Jerusalem in the late 1920s by Jesuits in Alexandria, Egypt. The Jesuits loaned it to the Israel Museum.
Another interesting fact about this mummy is that it is the only relic in Israel which has the double “Protective Eye of Horus” - a very meaningful symbol related to Ancient Egypt.
Horus was a key deity in ancient Egypt as a god of the sky and war, and this being was depicted as a man with a falcon head or as a falcon.

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The Egyptian Mummy on display in the Israel Museum. Photo Credit: Israel Museum

This is not the first time when CT scans have helped to find out more about the health of a person who was mummified millennia ago. As Mark Miller from Ancient Origins reported in September 25, 2015 “Over the years, scientists have found evidence of cancers, heart disease, starvation, ulcers, smallpox, tuberculosis and other infections in ancient remains from all over the world.” Researchers using CT scans have also detected a diseased kidney in an ancient Egyptian mummy. It appeared that a mummy of a man named Irtieru “had a kidney disease called renal tuberculosis that calcified (hardened) the organ.”
Irtieru died in the Third Intermediate Period and his mummy is housed within the Egyptian collection of the Museu Nacional de Arqueologia in Lisbon, and as Mr. Miller wrote “Computer tomography scans of this mummy showed a small dense bean-shaped structure at the left lumbar region. Its anatomical location, morphologic and structural analysis support a diagnosis of end-stage renal tuberculosis. If this diagnosis is correct, this will be the oldest example of kidney tuberculosis, and the first one recorded in an intentionally mummified ancient Egyptian.”
As one can see, health issues related to lifestyle are nothing new. What is interesting for many researchers is to find out just which diseases have passed through the sands of time, connecting modern people to their ancient ancestors. It is also of interest to see how and why these health problems have persisted. Furthermore, research into this area can show which illnesses were found in different social classes and how these may relate to their diet, activities, and social hierarchy.
Top image: The embellished mummy case containing the remains of the priest Iret-hor-iru | Photo credit: Oren Ben Hakoon

By Natalia Klimzcak

Ramesses III was Murdered by Multiple Assailants Then Received Postmortem Cosmetic Surgery to Hide it

Ancient Origins

A theory about the assassination of Ramesses III has been confirmed by researchers at the University in Cairo. They say that he was killed by multiple assailants and given postmortem cosmetic surgery to hide this fact.

Ramesses III (ruled 1186 BC – 1155 BC) was a pharaoh of the New Kingdom Period. Some revealing information about his death has been published in a new book by Egyptologist Zahi Hawas and the Cairo University radiologist Sahar Saleem. Their work is entitled Scanning the Pharaohs: CT Imaging of the New Kingdom Royal Mummies (American University in Cairo Press, 2016).
According to Live Science, Hawass and Saleem studied royal mummies from the 18th to 20th dynasties of Egypt, spanning from about 1543 BC to 1064 BC. They examined the mummies of famous pharaohs like Hatshepsut, Tutankhamun, Thutmose III, Seti I, etc. All of the mummies were from the collection of the Cairo Museum. With new technology the remains of the ancient royals became a priceless source of information.

CT imaging shows a detailed view of King Tut’s mummified skull – including the resin embalmers filled it with. (Sahar Saleem)

Details have been discovered about the medical conditions from which they may have suffered, as well as the mummification processes they underwent, their age, and causes of their death. Using Multi-Detector Computed Tomography and DNA analysis, Hawass and Saleem completed research which has provided more information on the mummies than ever before. Moreover, utilizing 3D images, the anatomy of each face has been discerned for a more accurate interpretation of facial features.

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The recent research has also uncovered new information connected to the genealogy and relationship between people whose mummified bodies are a part of the exhibition in Cairo. One of the most surprising stories appeared during the scanning of the mummy of Ramesses III.

The mummy of pharaoh Ramesses III. (Theban Royal Mummy Project)

Previously, the same team reported that Ramesses III's throat was slit, likely killing him instantly. Now, they have made a new discovery connected with his assassination. The toe of the pharaoh was hacked off, likely with an ax - suggesting that he was set upon by multiple assailants with different weapons.
As Saleem wrote in an email to Live Science:

"The site of foot injury is anatomically far from the neck-cut wound; also the shape of the fractured toe bones indicate that it was induced by a different weapon than that used to induce the neck cut. So there must have been an assailant with an ax/sword attacking the king from the front, and another one with a knife or a dagger attacking the king from his back, both attacking at the same time."

A three-dimensional CT scan of the feet of Ramesses III, showing the thick linen wrappings.
(Sahar Saleem and Zahi Hawass)

The body of Ramesses III was mummified, but before it happened, ancient specialists of mummification conducted cosmetic surgery on the body. They placed packing materials under his skin to "plump out" the corpse and make him look more attractive for his journey to the afterlife. They also tried to hide cuts on his body. He received a postmortem prosthesis to allow him to have a complete body in the Afterlife as well.

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"This hid the big secret beneath the wrappings. It seems to me that this was the intention of the ancient Egyptian embalmers, to deliberately pour large amounts of resin to glue the layers of linen wrappings to the body and feet." Saleem said to Live Science.

Sarcophagus box of Ramesses III. (Public Domain)

There is an ancient papyrus which documents the plot of killing Ramesses III. The court document tells the tale of a harem conspiracy, which cost Ramesses III his life. The story says that he was murdered by his wives, or at least one of them – Tiye. It is believed that she did it because of succession issues. Tiye was the mother of Pentawere, who was in line for the throne after his half-brother, known later as Ramesses IV. It seems that Tiye and other members of the royal harem decided to kill the pharaoh and install Pentawere as the ruler.
What's more interesting is that some researchers, including Zahi Hawass and Bob Brier, believe the so-called “Screaming Mummy,” also known as Unknown Man E, is Pentawere. This may be evidence that he helped his mother in a fight for his succession.

The mummy of Unknown Man E. (National Geographic Society)

According to the researchers, he looks like he was poisoned. They are convinced, however, that he died of suffocation or strangulation. Moreover, the mummy was found without a grave marking, which would have prevented him from reaching the afterlife. This action was a typical way for the ancient Egyptians to punish a person who committed a horrible crime. However, he was well mummified, which suggests that this man had a strong position on the court.

The uninscribed coffin of Unknown Man E with inset photo of interior. (Pat Remler/www.archeology.org)

Featured Image: Ramesses III offering incense, wall painting in KV11. (Public Domain) Detail: A CT scan depicting a sharp knife wound in Ramesses III’s neck with an amulet placed within to promote healing. (Sahar Saleem)
By Natalia Klimczak

French Egyptologist Asserts that the Younger Lady is Really the Mummy of Nefertiti

Ancient Origins

French Egyptologist Marc Gabolde, specialist in the Eighteenth Dynasty and the Amarna period, argues that the mummy known as the "Younger Lady" discovered almost a century ago, is actually the famous and much sought after Queen Nefertiti.
As Ancient Origins reported on Monday, the British researcher Nicholas Reeves is currently located in Luxor, Egypt. Reeves says that inside the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun, discovered by Howard Carter 93 years ago, there is access to a secret chamber which contains the long sought after tomb of the beautiful Nefertiti. The renowned Egyptologist, member of the University of Arizona, says he arrived at this conclusion after observing high resolution images of the tomb of the famous pharaoh, where he saw some fine cracks that correspond to the sealed entrance to what he believes is a hidden chamber -  in which the mortal remains of the wife of the revolutionary pharaoh Akhenaten may rest.
However, for Marc Gabolde, French Egyptologist specialist in the Eighteenth Dynasty and the Egyptian Armana period, the mummy of Nefertiti was discovered almost a century ago in the Valley of the Kings by fellow Frenchman Victor Loret – a mummy currently found in the Egyptian Museum and which is known as the Younger Lady or KV35YL mummy.

Limestone relief that was probably part of a family worship altar.  Akhenaten holding up his firstborn Meritaten and, in front of both, Nefertiti holds Meketaton, her second daughter (who died prematurely), in her lap. On her left shoulder is Anjesenpaaton her third daughter, who later would marry Tutankhamen. Berlin Museum. (CC BY SA 3.0)

Royal Tombs Smaller than Usual

In statements to the Spanish newspaper ABC, Gabolde claims that the existence of two chambers in the tomb of Tutankhamen is nothing out of the ordinary, in view of  other royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings,  such as those of Amenhotep II (KV 35), Thutmose IV (KV 43), Amenhotep III (WV 22), and even that of Horemheb (KV 57). He also believes that the burial chamber of Tutankhamun being noticeably smaller simply indicates that the chamber was made “reasonable” to the size necessary for Tutankhamun. He continues that it is no wonder, given the economy of the time, that four secondary chambers were reduced to two. “There is absolutely nothing abnormal,” says the scholar and member of the University of Montpellier.

Images of the plan of the KV57 tomb belonging to Horemheb, made ​​from a three-dimensional model. (CC BY SA 3.0)

The researcher also explained that there are other tombs of Egyptian pharaohs like Ay, successor of Tutankhamun, in which all auxiliary chambers are absent, and also recalls how when Ramses I died, workers had barely begun the second ramp to his tomb. In fact his son Seti I:

“Simply extended the corridor to be a burial chamber provided with two annexes and a half and not the four required. If there was not much time, digging all adjoining areas did not seem to be a priority. Considering all this, the presence of additional chambers in the tomb of Tutankhamun is less "obvious" than Reeves suggests that it is,” Gabolde said.

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Furthermore, the signs discovered by Reeves do not necessarily, according to Gabolde, need to be traces of sealed doors, instead they:

“Could be marks left by two teams of carvers or have been part of a project to create additional chambers, abandoned in a hurry, with slits hastily recapped. I sincerely hope that Reeves is partially right and does find a sealed room with the remains of a pharaoh queen behind the paintings because it may clarify the identity of the pharaoh’s queen. However, this is more likely to be Meritaten than Nefertiti.” According to the Egyptologist in his statements published in ABC.

The Mummy of the Younger Lady

In September 2010,  National Geographic  announced the results of an investigation conducted by an interdisciplinary team led by the famous and controversial Egyptologist Zahi Hawass. With it, it was verified through DNA tests that the KV35 mummies were actually the grandmother and the mother of Tutankhamun.
Marc Gabolde believes that the mummy identified in these studies as Tutankhamun's mother - or the Younger Lady - is really the mummy of Queen Nefertiti. “Nefertiti was Akhenaten's cousin, both by paternal and maternal ancestry and is identical to the mummy KV35YL. She is the mother of Tutankhamun.”
According to the French Egyptologist’s hypothesis, strong inbreeding probably would have caused "genetic mixing to have been quite weak, which would explain the genetic heritage of Akhenaten and Nefertiti having the appearance of a brother and a sister."

Profile picture of the “Younger Lady” mummy who, according to genetic studies, corresponded to the mother of Tutankhamun. According to Marc Gabolde it is really the mummy of Nefertiti. (Public Domain)

Gabolde indicates in his latest book, focused on the figure of Tutankhamun, that Nefertiti would have died a few months before her husband “never having been pharaoh.” Not that she would have ruled Egypt between Akhenaten and Tutankhamun anyway, as it would have been Meritaten, the oldest of the six daughters born of the marriage between Nefertiti and Akhenaten, who would have done so.
“Bolstered by her prestigious heritage and the fact that she was, for some months, the “great royal wife” of her father - probably only honorary title after the death of Nefertiti, Meritaten reigned about two full years,” according to Gabolde. The tomb of the eldest daughter of Akhenaten has not yet been discovered.
These are hypotheses, studies, and absolutely exciting and interesting opinions, that perhaps within hours, may come collapsing down, if the British Nicholas Reeves is right and behind the walls of the tomb of Tutankhamun are the remains of Nefertiti.

Bust of Meritaten, daughter of Nefertiti and Akhenaten and Great Royal Wife of the Eighteenth Dynasty. Louvre, Paris. (CC BY SA 1.0)

Featured image: Front view of the mummy of the "Younger Lady". (Public Domain)
Author: Mariló TA
This article was first published in Spanish at https://www.ancient-origins.es and has been translated with permission.